farwell



(No Model.) l 2 sheets-sheet 1. W. B. FARWELL. l

DRY ORE UONGENTRATOR.

No. 257,681.. vPatented May 9, 1882.

N. Pinks. Phom-mmgnpmr. washing, nc.

2 sneetsf-sheet 2.

(No ModeL) W. Bj FARWELL. DRY ORE GUNCENTRATOR.

Patented May `9, `1882.

UNITED "STATES PATENT Orr-ICE..A

VVILLRD B. FARWELL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

DRY-ORE ooNoENTRAToR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 257,681, dated May 9, 1882.

' Application filed November 28, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLARD B. FARWELL,

residing in the city and county of New York,

\ ing sprface.

State of New York, at present sojourning in San Francisco, State of California, have made and invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dry-Ore Concentrators, and I do hereby declare that the followin gis afull,clear,

and exact description of the same, reference A being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to ore-concentrating machines or apparatus of thatclass or variety in which separation of the metallic portions of pulverized ore is effected through the agency ofa blaster current of air so applied to the mass or body ot' ore to be treated that the lighter and worthless particles arc'acted upon more powerfully by the blast, and are thereby blown or forced outward to the surface, while the metallic particles, by virtue oftheir greater specific gravity, are permitted to settle down in opposition to the blast, and thus separate themselves from the lighter particles that pass or are carried otf as waste matter.

AThe accompanying drawingsform a part of this specication and illustrate the invention.

' Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section of the dev-ice. Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof'. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section of Fig. 2, looking in the direction ofthe arrow. Figs. et and 5 show details enlarged. Fig. 4 shows the scraping deviccin position for action. Fig. 5 shows the same in the position it is made to assume during the back stroke when it is out of action.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

The ore is introduced into a hopper, A, which I provide at one end ofthe machine/iu a position to deliver its contents upon the bed 13, maintained in a substantially horizontal position across the top of a supporting-frame, C C, and immediately over a bellows apparatus, E E, into which a supply of air is forced to produce and direct a strong blast of air beneath and upward through the bed or ore-supporttextile material, such as is provided with perforations orinterstices to permit the passage of the air-blast. This bed or supporting surface is stationary during the general operation of the machine, and has no motion and per- This bed B is made of suitable Vand progression of the ore. from the hopper;

but the ore is mechanically spread upon its surface and distributed in a layer of uniform depth or thickness by a set or number of reciprocating rakes or Scrapers, G G. These I construct and operate substantially in the following manner: In a rectangular frame, composed oflongitudinal rails h It and cross-strips t i, `I tix a number of bars in horizontal transverse rows or4 positions at regular distances apart, and support them by pivot-bearings taking into the side rails, h l1., so that these bars can turn freely in the frame in a similar manner to the slats of' a blind. From 4each one 'of these pivoted bars a blade or scrapie g-ed ge, g, projects in a downward direction toward the bed B, but out of contact with the bedsurface beneath the bars, and of such width that when in the vertical or working position distance will determine the depth of the gangue or matter that is to be left upon the bed, and the quantity that is to be passed or carried ol by the action of these Scrapers and' discharged from the end of the hed as tailings.

The frame carrying the bars G G is supported between the side frames b b of the machine upon rollers d d, and a longitudinal reciprocating motion is given to it by means of the crank-shaft J and the rod or pitman K, connecting the crank with one end ofthe frame. The Scrapers, however, are caused to act against the matter beneath them only during the forward movement, in a direction f rolu the hopper or receiving' end toward the discharge end of the bed, for which purpose the bars yGr are given a slight rotation or movement on their pivots in a forward direction at the beginning of each backward movement of their carrying-frame, so that the blades or -scraping-edges of the bars are turned upward into an inclined position, and held therein to pass overand clear the top of the ore-layer on the bed while the frame completes its backward or return movement. Therefore at each movement of the Scrapers G in the direction away from the hoppers they engage with the upper portion of' the ore body or layer to carry it forward, and at the return movement they are raised out of action, A simple and efficient means for op- IOO crating these Scrapers is Shown in Fig. l ofthe a bar, m, placed along 'and over the center of -the reciprocating frame It t', has each bar G connected with it by means of an ear or Short upright lug, a, projecting from the top ot' the bar G and pivoted in a slot in the under Side ot' the bar m. At the outer end this bar m is then attachedor connected to the lower end ot' a short lever, p, pivotcd at the center q to an upright post, It, fixed upon the cross-rail t of the scraper-frame, and having its upper end connected by a pivot-joint, s, to the rod or pitman of the crank. This rod in its f'orward movement throws the lowerend of the pivoted leverp backward, and gives Sufficient movement to the bar m in the Sallie direction to rotate the scraper-bars G upon their pivot and bring their blades or Scrapers in upright position, at which time or point in the movement of the bar 'in also a stop, T, provided on the under side of the pitman, is brought against `the upright post B, and the remaining motion t-being turned to an upright position it throws Ithe bar m forward and brings the blades or Scrapers g into an inclined position, or out ot' action, after which, the further movement ot the bar m being arrested by the contact of thc lower edge ot' the side rails, t lz, with the ltop ot' the bars G G, the frame, with the Scrapers g g in theinelined position, is then drawn back by the continued rotation of the crank. Thus at each forward movement the Scrapers are first brought into the vertical position and carried forward, and then turned up at an angle, or from the vertical, to pass over the surface of the ore on the bed before beginning their return movement.

By making the stop T adjustable toward and i from the post B, so as to comein contact with ity at a point sooner or later in the forward movement ofthe pltman, Ican cause the bars G G to move forward and act against the ore Abefore they comete the vertical and while they lhold a position more or less inclined, So that their penetration into the layer of ore may be increased or diminished by simply changing the position of this stop T to or from the post B.

In theoperation of this machinethe ore,whe n i introduced into the hopper, is directed onto the forward end of the movable perforate bed B, and thenas the Shaft J is rotated the set ot' distributing and progressin gblades or Scrapers v G is set in motion by the crank J and the concomes in front of and is caught by the next blade, and thus in regular manner the portion ot' 'ore taken each time by the first blade is progressed and carried toward the tail of the machine. A layer of uniform depth is thus mechanically formed and maintained upon the bed, and at the Sametime the upper portion ot this layer is receiving the lighter and worthless particles that are constantly being worked upward Iand separated from the body of the the gangue upon the bed beneath; and while these Scrapers G are distributing the matter over the bed and carrying it along to receive the action of the air-blast they are also acting to remove the top ot` the layer and discharge it at the end otl the machine. The heavymetallic particles in this manner gravitate toward and finally settle down upon the bed-Surface. To provide for mechanically removing this lowest portion, consisting of the metallic concentrations, Iconstruct the perforatc bed B of a length ot' woven or textile material, which I connect or attach at each end to a horizontal winding drum or roller P, and then by mentiting these rollers i-n bearings in the side frames O C, I hold and support the bed-surface B in proper position with and relation to the scrapers G, and also enable the Surface to be drawn longitudinallyin one direction or the other,'so that by simply winding it upon one roller P this bed can be drawn along toward one end of the machine, and any matter deposited on it will be mechanically discharged as the surface is wound around one roller and drawn from the other.

Immediately over the bed B, but with their lower edges slightly elevated above it to bc out of contact with it, I fix at intervals a number ot' cross-slats, L L. These are secured at the ends to theside frames b b, and extend transversely over the bed, forming a number of shallow receptacles, over which the Scrapers travel and beneath which is Supported the bed B. Within the recesses or receptacles thus formed the gangue rests audis confined, undisturbed by any other influence than the air-blast, hav- IOO ing constant applications of ore spread and distributed in them by the action ofthe Scrapers, and as regularly having the lighter par` ticles thrown out and raised to the surface by the currents of air from below into position to be caught by the Scrapers. These slats or bars L Serve to hold and retain the gangue in place while the bed is being drawn longitudinally outward in discharging the metallic particles from the lowest portion ofthe layer, and their lower edges, I, being elevated slightly above the bed-Surface B, a certain portion of the concentrated or separated matter therein can pass beneath them and move outward With the bed; but all the gangue above that line is confined by and held at rest within thc recesses between the bars L,

In the construction Shown in the drawings I have placed the forward winding-roller P within the compartment V, from which a spout or discharge, w, conducts the ore matter as it falls from the bed-surface and to direct Athe waste matter over this roller and thus separate it from the metallic portion beingdrawn out by the movable bed, I tix over the compartmentV a plate or surface, X, about on a level with the top of the hars L, so that the tailings are carried over it and thrown out at the end of the machine by the action of the scrapers at the end of the set. Hand-wheels P. are provided on both winding-drums l? for drawing the bed backward to bring it into position, as well as forward to clear off the concentrations. Intermediate supporting-rollers, a a, are introduced in front ofthe winding-rollers l? for the purpose of holding the bed-snrfaceB in horizontal position and keeping it properly stretched or at the required state of tension over the airblast beneath.

Y In the above-described apparatus for spreading and distributing the orc it will be seen that the scrapers ,are constantly at work carrying forward'a certain quantity of the pulverized matter, and causing itto progress regularly over the bed and be distributed laterally as it goes forward in a manner to receive the free action of the air-blast, and that the quantity takeu'at each time by the lirst scraper is advanced by the other scrapers in succession, and is thereby spread out in a thin sheet or layer in a condition to be thoroughly acted upon by the air, also, that the contact of the scraping edges or blades with and their peiletration into the ore matteratthelbrwa-rd movement can be adjusted through the medium of the adjustable stop T. Y

Having thus fully described my invention,

' what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an ore separatingorconcentrating machine, the combination ot' a pert'orate ore snpportiug surface, means for moving it forward or backward when desired, means for distribnting the pulverized ore thereon evenly and for moving the light particles forward toward the discharge end, and an air-blast apparatus located beneath and forcing the current of air upward through the supporting-surface and' ore-stratum, as set forth.V

2. The combination, in an ore-separator, of the perforate oresupporting` surface B and means for directing upward through said snrface a blastof air with the orespreadin g blades G and the bars L, as set forth.

3. In an orc-separator,thecombination,with a perforate ore-supporting surface, means for delivering ore thereon, and means for moving said surface in either direction, ot' a series of rakes, Gr, and means for imparting to them a reciprocatingmovement for acting upon the stratum of light material in one direction and for elevating them above it in the other direction, .substantially as set forth. 4

4. The combination of theV reciprocating fr.l1nehz,and supporting-surfaceB with the pivoted bars Gr, provided with blades g, mechanism for giving said frame a longitudinal reciprocating motion, and means for turning said bars upon their pivots to bring the blades thereofinto an inclined or angular position during the reciprocation ot' their carrying-frame in onedirect-ion and for turning them down into vertical or workin gposition at thereturn movement of the said frame, substantially as hereinbefore described, for the pur-pose set forth.

5. The combination, in a dry-ore separator, of the longitudinally-movable perforate supporting-surface B, the transverse slats L, the lon gitudinally-reciprocatin g Scrapers g g, and the air-blast mechanism #E E, substantially as hereinbefore described.

6. rlhe reciprocating frame h i, having scrapers G, the bar on, connections a, the leverp, post It, the pitman, the crank,yand the stop'l, all combined to operate substantially as set forth.

' 4 WILLARD B. FAR-WELL;

Witnesses:

EDWARD E. OsBoRN, GEO. VINCENT. 

